Do You Care if a Recipe is Authentic?
- Thread starter The Late Night Gourmet
- Start date
I just noticed something. When it comes to British foods/recipes, you tend to go pretty "traditional."
I think everyone has certain foods they keep "authentic" or "traditional."
CD
I mean that I don’t care if something is “authentic,” or “traditional,” not that I don’t cook anything that someone else may apply those words to.
True! However, British Food in general terms is not exactly rocket science, is it? And without being demeaning or dismissive about my national cuisine, British food, apart, perhaps, from baked goods, is simple.
- Fish & Chips. (love the stuff). 1) Clean fish 2) dip in batter 3) fry till golden 4) fry chips.
- Roast Beef. 1) salt and pepper the joint. 2) Heat oil in oven 3) put beef in oil 4) add potatoes, parsnips and carrots 4) cook until done.
- High Tea. 1) cut the crusts off sandwich bread. 2) butter, then fill with one or two ingredients (salmon&cream cheese, egg and cress, roast beef and horseradish, cucumber & cream cheese, cheddar and tomato) 3) make scones or piles of cake.
- Full English 1) fry all the following in abundant fat: sausages, black pudding, mushrooms, eggs, bacon, half tomatoes, YMCA potatoes. When done, remove and add two slices of bread to the fat, to soak it all up. 2) open a tin of beans and heat.
- Perfect vegetables. 1) peel or prepare veg. 2) add to boiling salted water and cook until just tender. 3) serve with butter.
CraigC
Guru
Um, andouille or tasso in jambalaya?
I fear it was the war (or wars) which gave the UK a bad reputation for its 'traditional' foods. If you roll back more than a hundred years there are some incredibly elaborate and interesting dishes (that is, mainly in the richer households). The combination of sweet and savoury, for exmple. was often used and goes back to the late middle ages:
Food historian Ivan Day has written extensively about the history of British cooking.
Ivan Day
The Telegraph
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GadgetGuy
(Formerly Shermie)
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. But it DOES let me know the real deal on it. 
I care about authenticity when I am trying out a new recipe from a particular place because I want to get a taste of that destination and what it would be like if could go there and eat it.
To do this I normally hunt down several recipes written by natives of that country and look at the common denominators before selecting one which I feel may capture the quintessential spirit of the dish in its most generic form.
Later on I may try out more adventurous versions that have experimented with pushing the boundaries to see what will suit my and my family's tastes. but I quite often come back to simpler/less-is-more versions.
An example would be Bolognese - I have tried numerous traditional recipes such as the straightforward Silver Spoon book one, through to crazy ones such as J. Kenji Lopez's 30-ingredient version that uses fish sauce, marmite, chicken livers etc. but have pretty much settled on the official City Of Bologna version.
An alternate example is Carbonara - I've tried it in its simplest and most traditional form with guanciale, extra egg yolks, NO cream etc. but for my family's tastes now use pancetta and a splash of cream, so I refer to that as ‘Carbo-Fredo' to avoid offending anyone.
So yes, I care about authenticity to a point and want to capture the essence of a dish as those eating it in their home countries would enjoy it, but am not a stickler for it and will make some adaptations prioritising taste.
To do this I normally hunt down several recipes written by natives of that country and look at the common denominators before selecting one which I feel may capture the quintessential spirit of the dish in its most generic form.
Later on I may try out more adventurous versions that have experimented with pushing the boundaries to see what will suit my and my family's tastes. but I quite often come back to simpler/less-is-more versions.
An example would be Bolognese - I have tried numerous traditional recipes such as the straightforward Silver Spoon book one, through to crazy ones such as J. Kenji Lopez's 30-ingredient version that uses fish sauce, marmite, chicken livers etc. but have pretty much settled on the official City Of Bologna version.
An alternate example is Carbonara - I've tried it in its simplest and most traditional form with guanciale, extra egg yolks, NO cream etc. but for my family's tastes now use pancetta and a splash of cream, so I refer to that as ‘Carbo-Fredo' to avoid offending anyone.
So yes, I care about authenticity to a point and want to capture the essence of a dish as those eating it in their home countries would enjoy it, but am not a stickler for it and will make some adaptations prioritising taste.
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badjak
Über Member
I always find it a tricky question 
Do I care about authenticity? Maybe somewhat...
Do I change recipes? Yeah all the time
Cuisines change, people change, items that were not available may be available now.
A typical example is Indonesian food in the Netherlands.
It actually got it's own name (Indisch) as opposed to Indonesian. Mainly because ingredients were not available, so fresh lemongrass was replaced with dried, same with ginger, galangal and a lot of other herbs and spices. Tropical leaf vegetables were replaced with local ones that were similar in structure (kangkung (morning glory) with spinach, sturdy leafy things with curly kale).
These days, that cuisine is dying out as fresh ingredients are available now.
I generally hesitate to call my cooking authentic as I will have normally adjusted it (Dutch pea soup gets a squirt of soy sauce and some sambal added. Maybe that way it becomes Indonesian or Surinam pea soup, who knows?)
Do I care about authenticity? Maybe somewhat...
Do I change recipes? Yeah all the time
Cuisines change, people change, items that were not available may be available now.
A typical example is Indonesian food in the Netherlands.
It actually got it's own name (Indisch) as opposed to Indonesian. Mainly because ingredients were not available, so fresh lemongrass was replaced with dried, same with ginger, galangal and a lot of other herbs and spices. Tropical leaf vegetables were replaced with local ones that were similar in structure (kangkung (morning glory) with spinach, sturdy leafy things with curly kale).
These days, that cuisine is dying out as fresh ingredients are available now.
I generally hesitate to call my cooking authentic as I will have normally adjusted it (Dutch pea soup gets a squirt of soy sauce and some sambal added. Maybe that way it becomes Indonesian or Surinam pea soup, who knows?)
Absolutely! Post war Britain was still rationed and that sent food to a drab place for a very long time but it’s not the same place it was even 10 years ago.
Like all cosmopolitan counties that are able to embrace other cultures the vibrant mix of other nations (mostly in cities) led to an explosion of fantastic dishes and amazing chefs.
That coupled with alcohol taxes (amongst other things) killing local pubs the only way they now survive is by providing good food. Simple? Sometimes but it’s now mostly very well made.
Yes you can still eat bad or overly plain food in the UK (as in most countries) but only if you’re an idiot who doesn’t know how to check a places rating
That‘s another component too, the reviews and ratings that are easily accessible online, if you provide bad fair your business simply won’t survive.
I think it’s hard for a country to break any stereotype mostly because people prefer to ring fence where they are as good and don’t embrace other countries or allow for change.
We have a reputation for being a nation of chip eaters and yet France far outstrips us on the chip eating score. Potato consumption is an interesting example of perceptions and reality being out of kilter. Belarus Ukraine and Kazakhstan are the largest per capita consumers. The Nepalese eat more potatoes than the Brits!
Link to an interesting take on UK food from US Top Chef judge on her visit to the Britain.
‘Candy bars in America are not proper chocolate’: Top Chef judge Gail Simmons on US v UK food
I should add if you want to experience some of the truly awful Brit food of old then eat in a motorway services, they are still terrible and largely inedible.
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As for authenticity I like to know if a dish labelled with a traditional title deviates significantly from the original but there‘s no creativity if the tramlines are drawn tightly and then we all miss out.
Take all the marvellous fusion dishes from different cultures, are they authentic? Nope. Are they good, hell yeah.
Am I going to get touchy about Ching doing an Asian flavoured Sunday roast? No, I get excited and can’t wait to see how it tastes
Take all the marvellous fusion dishes from different cultures, are they authentic? Nope. Are they good, hell yeah.
Am I going to get touchy about Ching doing an Asian flavoured Sunday roast? No, I get excited and can’t wait to see how it tastes
Frizz1974
Veteran
I love this discussion. When younger, with more energy for the soap box & less experience of the world of food I used to get very excited about the proper way to make Lebanese tabouli etc and the proper way to make a bunch of Italian recipes as these were taught to me by immigrant neighbours and were THE ONLY WAY these foods should be made. No deviation ever.
I used to see “tabouli” in various kebab shops and scoff.
Eventually I learned that every region of Italy, probably every village, has its own take on a pork ragu or whatever the local favourite pasta dish etc. and the same thing with the Middle East. Most of my Arab friends are from Lebanon so I had no clue the Turks take on a parsley & grain salad was so different.
Now as I approach my 40th year of cooking & obsessing about food, I have no true respect for authentic as it’s just the opinion of that group of people.
Just today I was reading an article titled “Everything I, an Italian, thought I knew about Italian food is wrong”.
I recommend you all go have a look. Fascinating.
I used to see “tabouli” in various kebab shops and scoff.
Eventually I learned that every region of Italy, probably every village, has its own take on a pork ragu or whatever the local favourite pasta dish etc. and the same thing with the Middle East. Most of my Arab friends are from Lebanon so I had no clue the Turks take on a parsley & grain salad was so different.
Now as I approach my 40th year of cooking & obsessing about food, I have no true respect for authentic as it’s just the opinion of that group of people.
Just today I was reading an article titled “Everything I, an Italian, thought I knew about Italian food is wrong”.
I recommend you all go have a look. Fascinating.
This may be an interesting avenue to explore, as we all bring our own notions to the idea of authenticity.
To me, when someone says, “This is authentic XYZ,” what I hear is, “This is the single and solitary correct way to make this dish, it is the only way, and all others are wrong.”
That feeling is precisely why I scoff at “authenticity” in a recipe, because if there’s more than one version of XYZ, and they both claim to be “authentic,” then at least one is wrong (and probably both, actually).
Brilliant article. Thankyou.
‘Gastronationalism‘ great new word.
Loved this line “As Grandi points out, a tradition is nothing but an innovation that was once successful.”
Link to article. Well worth a read.
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